John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson and George Clooney in "O Brother, Where Art Thou?"

MOVIE INFORMATION

With 10 as a must-see, Jack gives this film a: Stars: George Clooney Director: Joel Coen Rated: PG-13, with profanity, violence, racism Length: 106 minutes

ROCHESTERCRITIQUE

Having seen this film, how would you rate it? 10 5 9 4 8 3 7 2 6 1

By Jack Garner
Democrat and Chronicle

(January 12, 2001) -- What filmmakers would blend Homer's Odyssey, the cockeyed caravan of 1940s screwball director Preston Sturges, and old-time hillbilly music? AND make it hilarious?

The Coen brothers, of course.

O Brother, Where Art Thou?, the latest wacky invention from Joel and Ethan Coen, features a trio of escaped convicts in the Depression-Era South, who could be labeled Dumb, Dumber and Dumbest.

Everett (George Clooney), Pete (Coen regular John Turturro) and Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson) try to stay out of jail long enough to find a buried treasure. Almost immediately, a blind man predicts they'll find a treasure, but not the one they seek.

Our hapless heroes encounter betraying relatives, reluctant spouses, a conniving Dixiecrat, an itinerant blues musician, a one-eyed Bible salesman, relentless hound dogs and sheet-clad Klansmen.

But the trio also stumbles into recording a country song -- and are shocked to find they're good at hiding in the guise of The Soggy Bottom Boys.

O Brother, Where Art Thou? is packed with all the warped fun filmgoers expect from the Coens, especially from lighter fare like Raising Arizona.

Even when tackling dark topics, the Coens approach them with hilarious ridicule -- a Klan rally is shot, for example, with the campy extravagance of a Busby Berkeley musical.

All three key performances are enthusiastically in the funny, over-the-top style of the film.

Clooney leads the way as Everett Ulysses McGill, a masterful comic character who favors hair waxed with "Dapper Dan" grease and speaks in a pretentious, convoluted fashion. He's a revelation here in an outright comic gem.

Turturro plays the more emotional, edgy escapee, with a temper that outstrips his intelligence, while Nelson is perfect as the most dim-witted innocent of the threesome. (Nelson also contributes a spot-perfect rural-country vocal to In the Jailhouse Now, a musical highlight.)

The music, in fact, is one of several reasons to enjoy O Brother. Working with music producer T. Bone Burnett, the Coens pay tribute to the grand mountain music, bluegrass, rural blues, chain gang songs and spirituals that form the roots of country music.

With skill and imagination, the Coens have combined this music with a tale whose roots go back to ancient Greece and whose style mirrors a master of 1940s film comedy.

And they make it funny and appealing, even for viewers who are unfamiliar with the films of Preston Sturges, or wouldn't know the Odyssey's Homer from Homer Simpson.